The present invention relates to a seat devices including fold-down backs.
More particularly, the invention relates to a seat device comprising a base (e.g. the floor of a vehicle) and a seat carried by the base, the seat comprising a back and a seat proper extending between a rear end close to the back and a front end remote from the back, the seat proper being pivotally mounted on the base about a first transverse horizontal pivot axis close to the front end of said seat proper to pivot between a normal, in-use position that is substantially horizontal and a raised position that is substantially vertical, the back itself comprising:
a bottom portion connected to the base; and
a top portion pivotally mounted on the bottom portion to pivot about a second transverse horizontal pivot axis, the top portion of the back being connected to the bottom portion by a locking mechanism movable between an unlocked state enabling the top portion of the back to pivot freely relative to the bottom portion, and a locked state suitable for holding the top portion of the back stationary relative to the bottom portion in at least both a first raised position and a first folded-down position where the back occupies a substantially horizontal or xe2x80x9ctablexe2x80x9d configuration, the bottom portion of the back being pivotally mounted on the base to pivot about a third transverse horizontal pivot axis between firstly a raised position in which the second pivot axis is at a first height and secondly a folded-down position in which the second axis is at a second height that is lower than the first height, the top portion of the back being adapted to pivot relative to the bottom portion of folded-down position that is substantially horizontal when the bottom portion of the back pivots from its raised position to its folded-down position, and the bottom portion of the back being connected to the base via a second locking mechanism movable between firstly a locked state in which said second locking mechanism locks the bottom portion of the back relative to the base, at least when said bottom portion of the back is in the raised position, and secondly an unlocked state enabling the bottom portion of the back to pivot about the third axis.
Document DE 199 49 759 describes an example of such a seat having a back that can be folded down to constitute a table (FIG. 2) or to occupy a position in which it is completely retracted (FIG. 3). When completely retracted, the bottom portion of the back has pivoted forwards. That type of seat gives satisfaction in terms of technical operation. However it suffers from the drawback of being relatively bulky, particularly lengthwise.
A particular object of the present invention is to mitigate that drawback.
To this end, according to the invention, in a seat device of the kind in question, the bottom portion of the back is adapted to pivot rearwards relative to the base while said bottom portion is passing from its raised position to its folded-down position.
By means of these dispositions, it is possible to lower the seat back completely so as to minimize the amount of space it occupies.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, it is optionally possible to make use of one or more of the following dispositions as well:
the top portion of the back is adapted to pivot relative to the bottom portion of the back about the second pivot axis so that the top portion of the back is retracted into a cavity provided in the base;
the first locking mechanism is resiliently urged towards its locked state and is movable into its unlocked state by means of a control member, and said first locking mechanism is adapted to remain in its unlocked state independently of any actuation of the control member while the top portion of the back is in an angular position intermediate between said first raised position and said first folded-down position;
the bottom portion of the back comprises two side plates on either side of the top portion of the back, leaving between them an empty space which receives the top portion of the back when the bottom portion of the back is in the folded-down position and the top portion of the back is in its second folded-down position;
the second locking mechanism is urged resiliently towards its locked state and is controlled by a handle member adapted to move said second locking mechanism into its unlocked position, the top portion of the back being secured to an actuator member which is adapted to move the handle member to unlock the second locking mechanism while said top portion of the back is pivoting from its first folded-down position towards its second folded-down position relative to the bottom portion of the back;
the first locking mechanism is adapted to remain in its unlocked state independently of any actuation of the control member while the top portion of the back is in an angular position intermediate between its first and second folded-down positions;
the first locking mechanism is adapted to lock in the first and second folded-down positions of the top portion of the back;
the first locking mechanism enables the raised position of the top portion of the back to be adjusted between said first raised position and a second raised position that slopes further rearwards; and
the bottom portion of the back has a slot enabling a stop secured to the top portion of the back to pass through, said stop actuating the control finger during return of the top portion of the back between its second folded-down position and its first folded-down position.